During the operation of a gas turbine engine, ambient air enters the forward section of the engine and is distributed throughout the engine. At certain conditions, such as at low temperature conditions, moisture may form into ice near the forward ambient air intake section of the engine. For example, the leading edges of the inlet guide vanes are particularly susceptible to potential ice accumulation. Another example area susceptible to ice accumulation is the leading edge of the inlet housing splitter nose.
In efforts to prevent ice from accumulating on the leading edges of the inlet guide vanes, conventional engines generally leverage high temperature and high pressure air from the engine high compressor by bleeding this relatively hot air to the inlet guide vane cavities so as to warm the leading edges of the inlet guide vanes. The high compressor bleed air is delivered to the internal cavity of each inlet guide vane via a complex system of external plumbing that includes multiple tubes, fittings and other hardware. The fittings are typically welded to a cover encapsulating a plenum where the high compressor bleed air is collected and distributed through the cavity of each inlet guide vane to warm their leading edges. The geometry and location of other engine components, however, constrain the tubes and fittings to only certain air feed locations on the cover of the plenum. While generally effective, the constrained packaging of the tubes and fittings restrict the air feeds to a few locations on the cover of the plenum that are less than 60 degrees apart from each other, which inhibits a necessary uniform distribution of the high compressor air through the plenum to the cavity of each inlet guide vane. Similarly, uniform distribution of the high compressor bleed air to the inlet housing splitter nose is not feasible in this conventional configuration.
Accordingly, there is a need to provide a uniform distribution of warm air to areas of the engine that are susceptible to ice accumulation, such as the leading edges of the inlet guide vanes and the inlet housing splitter nose, without using heavy external plumbing and hardware components to deliver such air.